5th Avenue Garden

VT Tab 5th Avenue Garden Information

The Fifth Avenue Garden History

As a result of a decision of the Board of Trustees in 1939, three magnolias were selected for the Fifth Avenue garden. The two trees on the lower tier are Saucer Magnolias (Magnolia soulangeana) and the species on the upper tier by the flagpole is a Star Magnolia (Magnolia stellata). Considered to be some of the largest in the New York area, and certainly the most grand in the setting in which they are displayed, they maintain their balance by yearly pruning, to sustain their sprawling shape in proportion to the long limestone facade of The Frick Collection.

Kristin Jones, a visual and multimedia collaborative artist whose primary interest is the "shape of time," approached The Frick Collection in 2009 with the idea of photographing the blooming of their magnolia trees. In 2010 she met the Frick's photographer, Michael Bodycomb, who welcomed the idea and offered his expertise to help make the filming possible. The camera was set up and the shooting took place for twenty-four hours a day for twenty-five days between March 22 and April 16, 2010.

Google Art Project

Google recently announced the major global expansion of last year's groundbreaking Art Project. This unique collaboration merging art and technology now includes 151 partners in 40 countries around the world. In the United States alone, the project has expanded beyond the initial group of four museums, which included The Frick Collection, to represent 29 partners — ranging from large institutions to university galleries — in 16 cities.